Moderators: No need to move this to "railfanning".

Anybody else who is interested --- You know how to reach me, but I don't claim to have any say-so. (And I should tell you up front that I have a very poor track record when it comes to dealing with lawyers and rich people.) I WILL TRY if your proposal sounds promising.

Thanks to everybody who is taking an interest.

VIVA NdeM #3028 !!!

Seems also the GTW 6325 etc are very close in size to the ndem 4-8-4s in terms of an approximation of size for something that's ran recently. GTW has 73 vs 70 driver, but other than that, many of the key specs are not far off.

If this aging memory still serves, i believe that the t.e. on the Mexican QR-1s is 57,000 lbs.
Boiler pressure should be 250 lbs. and this allowed for modest-sized cylinders.

These machines held the rail extremely well for the N de M. I have cassette tapes of one starting a heavy rock train out of Valle in a pouring rain and she did just fine.

That 57,000 lbs TE rating is given for 85% of MAWP 250 psi.

Here's a link to video of her present "resting place" (she deserves better):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw0MWmtOD-c

Depressing. It looks much further back than it used to be. Has anyone been back there lately? Is it in the same spot it's been for years or was it moved?

John

Attached is a picture from an earlier post. Certainly, with its lighter axle loading, it would be a versatile locomotive, potentially able to run on branch lines. The CNR Northerns and Mountain Type excursion locos, with similar profiles, were used on as low as 80-pound rail.
Sammy? Has anyone reported on a close look at the boiler condition lately. That is in a very humid zone, so one would worry about pitting.
Also, it is assumed that the accessories and fittings are safely stowed away?
They were certainly good looking locomotives. One would think that anyone would be proud to operate one!

Rick, I've never been to New Hope and looked for myself. When Richard Steinbrenner was in charge of a restoration effort with a sugar daddy, I was delighted to commit to helping any way I could. Condition of the boiler wasn't a factor in making my decision. With his untimely passing, there was no way I could duplicate his connections or suddenly assume his stature in the preservation community, and no way I could pay for the project with my personal resources, so there she sits. At least all the vitamin A is gone.

I can only hope that all the missing pieces are safe. The picture you posted shows her just after crossing the Rio Grande, with a fresh shopping, completely prepared to steam unassisted all the way to Schenectady, except that the ICC forms had not been prepared and signed off. They had to kill the fire and tow her.

The QR-1s were designed with a similar approach to the China Rail QJs --- They featured a lighter axle loading and never ran short of steam, because such power was useful in a lot more places, for a lot more assignments, than the biggest thing on that could run on rails was. That's why nobody is seriously thinking of running the #643, even though she's glorious.

The late Tom Irion is the only other American I've ever spoken with who has run one of these locomotives, and the late Guillermo Garza Galindo ( viewtopic.php?f=1&t=47879 ) told me of running the same engine that I did, #3040, at Valle de Mexico when he was a teenager. You can be quite sure that we all felt privileged to have shared this experience, and envy anybody who ever somehow manages to one day drive the #3028. I doubt I'll live to see that day,

Sammy,

Shaugnessy’s photo shows what looks like a nice lean locomotive vs bigger US contemporaries.

Wesley

Wesley,

You have excellent taste... The QR-1s are similar to a NC&StL Dixie type, a GTW U3c Northern, or a DL&W Pocono, maybe an RF&P Potomac or Cotton Belt #819... only they outlasted them all.